Halfords Cycle2work.

Rulebritania

I have signed upto the cycle2work scheme my Halfords voucher for £500 comes in the next couple of days. I am going to wait until after the Olympics to get a bike and all the gear. I have been onto their website and they are not forthcoming with any real offers for additional stuff they can add. Tey have also sent me the details of other partner shops who accept the voucher but they are all too expensive for what money I want:

Trek 1.1 - 54cm - with a 170 crank - £550.00

2013 Specialized Allez Compact - 54cm - £550.00

Giant Defy 5 compact - 54cm - £549.99

Any other ideas of where and what I can do?

Berkshire Cycle Co.
207 High Street
Crowthorne

AW Cycles
110 Henley Road
Caversham
Reading

Hargroves Cycles
10 City Road
Winchester
Hampshire

Cycleworks Haslemere
19-21 West St
Haslemere
Surrey

richh

I think that Condor Cycles in London also accepted the Halfords vouchers, but they seem to only talk about their own version on their website now so perhaps things have changed. Worth a call I'd say and only a short (ish) train journey away from your area judging form the location you've already identified.

Oh and as I used to live near Southampton and work in Farnborough I've actually been to a couple of the shops you've listed. Personally I found the one in Crowthorne utterly useless and was much more focussed on selling £100 bike shaped object to kids rather than proper road bikes. The info that the guy in there spouted about the specialized range for example was ridiculous (e.g. carbon only lasts 3-4 years before it "goes off" when trying to say why someone should go for the Allez over the Tarmac - I'm not joking!)

I've only been to Hargroves in Winchester once, but I've used their Southampton branch a fair few times and have always been impressed. It's only a small chain so I imagine that Winchester would be just as good as the management would be able to keep standards up, unlike the larger chains.

I've been to AW Cycles once as well and was very impressed. It's a big shop with the whole upper floor for road cycling and the staff that I spoke to were very knowledgable. Some very nice customer bikes in there when I visited as well so I guess they're trusted by the locals.

I've never been to the one in Haslemere I'm afraid.

Twelly

The 2013 Allez is a rip off. Get the 2012 from Hargroves if you want an Allez. Still not great value but better.

If you have a Halfords voucher, forget all other options and get the most expensive Carrera or Boardman you can get.

smidsy

Those are all more than the voucher - can you add cash to them in the scheme, I thought you had to have the amount correct on the voucher?

Rulebritania

Cheers for all the advice so far, I'm not sure about the adding money. I'm hoping that the Allez (any of them) will drop off in the inevitable sale post Olympics/ End of Season sale.

I don't want to spend to much and waste it if I don't take to it.

Rulebritania

I reckon I will get the Carrera TDF
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... e-11-44902

But will the 700c x 23c take the Schwalbe Marathon Bike Tyre - 700c x 35c?

Mikelancs

Yes you can add money to the voucher - im suprised no one has said so. So just add an extra £50 and get the bike you want.

Rulebritania

Mikelancs wrote:

Yes you can add money to the voucher - im suprised no one has said so. So just add an extra £50 and get the bike you want.

Cheers for that, at least I know. its a tough decision as I don't know if I'll take to it.

richh

Regarding sale prices, be a bit careful here as a few shops I've been to have clearly stated that they don't allow you to get sale bike on the R2W scheme, or at least they can't honor the full discount. You need to ask them if you see a bargain otherwise you might be in for a surprise.

Twelly

Mikelancs wrote:

Yes you can add money to the voucher - im suprised no one has said so. So just add an extra £50 and get the bike you want.

Um.. offically, no, you can't.

But why do you need to? The allowance is £1000 on the C2W scheme. Just get a voucher for £550 :S

I had to get a quote from LBS for the exact bike I was going to buy before they would issue my voucher so I don't understand how they are sending you a generic £500 voucher...

richh

TwellySmat wrote:

Mikelancs wrote:

I had to get a quote from LBS for the exact bike I was going to buy before they would issue my voucher so I don't understand how they are sending you a generic £500 voucher...

Because different schemes work in different ways. For example, we use the Evans scheme and it's just a voucher for a particular value and is not based on a particular bike, which means you can go to a store with the voucher in your pocket and buy whatever you want. I imagine that the Halfords scheme is the same.

TheEnglishman

Why not get a voucher for more money? The max is a grand, isn't it?

Rulebritania

I set my self a £500 budget to get me safely on the road, with all I would need Halfords allow you to get anything from the bikehut
So far I have added the following to my basket

Schwalbe Marathon Bike Tyre - 700c x 35c x2 24.99 each
Magnum Plus Chain Bike Lock - 85cm 46.99
MET Terra Bike Helmet - Matt Black (with peak) (54-61cm) 59.99
Topeak Peakini Bike Pump 11.99
Azore Mens 8 Panel Cycling Shorts Medium 19.99
Halfords Adult Bike Care Plan - 1 Year 19.99
Bikehut Multitool 2.50
Carrera TDF Road Bike 2011/2012 - Medium 54cm 299.99

with disco;unts -40.00

Total price 368.92

Now I am looking to phone round some stores (4 x Halfords) + local shops accepting the voucher to see what else I can get.

I am prepared to travel a fair distance to get the best deal I can

Twelly

Are you sure 35's will fit on the TDF? I'm not saying they won't, just saying it would be best to check with Halfords.

Next question - why do you want such big, treaded tyres on a road bike?

HasselHough

join British Cycling, that'll give you an extra member discount, think its around 10%

i'm pretty sure you can't add money to the scheme.

richh

TwellySmat wrote:

Are you sure 35's will fit on the TDF? I'm not saying they won't, just saying it would be best to check with Halfords.

Next question - why do you want such big, treaded tyres on a road bike?

A good point, do rims even exist that can take tyres ranging from 23c up to 35c? I'm not sure they do.

There's no reason to go for tires that big anyway. The largest you'll probably ever need on a road bike would be something like a 28c, but most people will stick with 23c or 25c.

Twelly

richh wrote:

TwellySmat wrote:

Are you sure 35's will fit on the TDF? I'm not saying they won't, just saying it would be best to check with Halfords.

Next question - why do you want such big, treaded tyres on a road bike?

A good point, do rims even exist that can take tyres ranging from 23c up to 35c? I'm not sure they do.

There's no reason to go for tires that big anyway. The largest you'll probably ever need on a road bike would be something like a 28c, but most people will stick with 23c or 25c.

I don't think the rim is the issue, it would be frame clearance I would be worried about.

Stick with 23's your arse will soon harden up and you'll be going much faster.

Rulebritania

Having read revues from many sites, I am looking tyres that will offer greater puncture protection than standard ones I asked the lad in halfords and he said they would

Any other thoughts on tyre choice?

Twelly

Schwalbe Blizzard Sport - puncture protection, very fast and only £10 each. I switched to them because I was puncturing so much. No problems since I switched.

...or Continental Gatorskins - kind of the bar setter for puncture protection, bit more expensive though

The Marathons will just slow you down unnecessarily, probably not fit on the bike and even if they do fit, will make wheel removal a pain in the arse. Ignore the lad in Halfords. He probably knows sweet FA about what he is selling.

EDIT: The Marathons are the most expensive road tyre Halfords sell - I wonder why he suggested it....

daveski12

On my Halfords C2W I was not allowed to add money and as has been mentioned, had to pay the full RRP of the bike. This was 18 months ago though.

B.M.R.

My other half got her hybrid from the LBS, and they said they couldn't do C2W at sale prices, it had to be on the RRP.
Also, despite what you may get told, the C2W scheme should not be used for anything over a £1000. It something to do with the tax rules etc... that means you can't make up the difference if you, say, wanted a £1500 bike.

Now, there ARE some bike shops that will let you make the difference up, (I was in one the other day and got told this), but it's not within the spirit of the scheme and probably there's some legislation either the shop or you would be breaking. It gets complicated because (lest we forget) with C2W you are only hiring the bike from your employer until you make the final payment.

Don't know how that would work when you haven't "maxxed" the amount though, but again as there are tax liabilities at work here it may be worth checking.

OP : DOes your £500 limit include the C2W discount already? So you'll only be paying £400ish for a £500 bike?

Edit : Having a quick look now the limitations of the C2W scheme could be more to do with the Hire Purchase side of things than the tax side... I'm no expert though, just what I had interpreted from having a look recently myself at spending more than a £1000.

markp80

The £1,000 limit is in place because above that your employer needs to be a licences credit broker, below that they are exempt by the scheme - don't forget, your employer is "hiring" the bike to you, it's not legally yours (until you purchase it from your employer at the end of the hire period, if you choose to).
You can't add money to your voucher, this is not allowed by the scheme, and would in fact invalidate it, if it came to HMRC's attention.
There's no reason whatsoever why a shop should not let you have the bike and accessories at a sale price. All that is happening is that they receive payment from your employer (via the voucher, through whoever is running the scheme for them). I would challenge any shop on this.
Cheers,
MarkP

fatdaz

Rulebritania wrote:

I set my self a £500 budget to get me safely on the road, with all I would need Halfords allow you to get anything from the bikehut
So far I have added the following to my basket

Schwalbe Marathon Bike Tyre - 700c x 35c x2 24.99 each
Magnum Plus Chain Bike Lock - 85cm 46.99
MET Terra Bike Helmet - Matt Black (with peak) (54-61cm) 59.99
Topeak Peakini Bike Pump 11.99
Azore Mens 8 Panel Cycling Shorts Medium 19.99
Halfords Adult Bike Care Plan - 1 Year 19.99
Bikehut Multitool 2.50
Carrera TDF Road Bike 2011/2012 - Medium 54cm 299.99

with disco;unts -40.00

Total price 368.92

Now I am looking to phone round some stores (4 x Halfords) + local shops accepting the voucher to see what else I can get.

I am prepared to travel a fair distance to get the best deal I can

Does it come with pedals? If not you'll need to budget for pedals and maybe, depending on pedal type, shoes

B.M.R.

MarkP80 wrote:

The £1,000 limit is in place because above that your employer needs to be a licences credit broker, below that they are exempt by the scheme - don't forget, your employer is "hiring" the bike to you, it's not legally yours (until you purchase it from your employer at the end of the hire period, if you choose to).
You can't add money to your voucher, this is not allowed by the scheme, and would in fact invalidate it, if it came to HMRC's attention.
There's no reason whatsoever why a shop should not let you have the bike and accessories at a sale price. All that is happening is that they receive payment from your employer (via the voucher, through whoever is running the scheme for them). I would challenge any shop on this.
Cheers,
MarkP

Much better explanation than mine!

markp80

"I have signed upto the cycle2work scheme my Halfords voucher for £500 comes in the next couple of days"

- be careful here. If you have a £500 voucher from your employer that could well mean they have prepaid a £500 invoice to the scheme manager. This being the case, you won't get change and the full £500 will be used to calculate your salary sacrifice payments. So you would need to spend as close as you can up to the full voucher value, not £368 !
You should check how your voucher scheme works, but that's how the ones I've seen work.
One thing I found with Halfords, and I'm sure most places will be the same - you go there, get the estimate for everything, get the voucher approved, then issued - then when you go back to spend it, they are happy for you to spend it how you wish on the choice of bike and accessories etc, almost like a gift voucher. Only up to the voucher value of course, but it means you end up with all sorts of odds and ends to use up the full value.
Cheers
MarkP

Rulebritania

MarkP80 wrote:

"I have signed upto the cycle2work scheme my Halfords voucher for £500 comes in the next couple of days"

- be careful here. If you have a £500 voucher from your employer that could well mean they have prepaid a £500 invoice to the scheme manager. This being the case, you won't get change and the full £500 will be used to calculate your salary sacrifice payments. So you would need to spend as close as you can up to the full voucher value, not £368 !
You should check how your voucher scheme works, but that's how the ones I've seen work.
One thing I found with Halfords, and I'm sure most places will be the same - you go there, get the estimate for everything, get the voucher approved, then issued - then when you go back to spend it, they are happy for you to spend it how you wish on the choice of bike and accessories etc, almost like a gift voucher. Only up to the voucher value of course, but it means you end up with all sorts of odds and ends to use up the full value.
Cheers
MarkP

I popped into halfords and they said I can choose from anything in the bike hut, Which is good really and does not effect sale and reduced items.

richh

MarkP80 wrote:

There's no reason whatsoever why a shop should not let you have the bike and accessories at a sale price. All that is happening is that they receive payment from your employer (via the voucher, through whoever is running the scheme for them). I would challenge any shop on this.
Cheers,
MarkP

From what I was told this may well only be a "cyclescheme" issue rather than a sweeping rule across all of the R2W schemes. The independent shops (more than one) that I spoke mentioned that for cyclescheme they had to pay 10% of the voucher price to cycle scheme, so if they did that on top of offering rock bottom sale prices they would be losing money on every bike that went through them on R2W. What they all said was they could still offer sale bikes but they would need to limit the amount of discount that would be offered to allow for this 10%. For example, if they've got a bike advertised at 30% off, for the R2W person they would only be able to offer a 20% discount.

MAybe the scheme has changed in the 3-4 years since I last used it but at least 4 shops said the same thing to me, and infact Planet-X even state this in their rules, and charge the customer for this:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/facts/cyclescheme

For other "in house" schemes I'd imagine that this doesn't apply and hence full discounts could be available. Certainly the two times I've used the Evan's scheme I've bought sale bikes and both with 25-30% off if I remember correctly.

markp80

@richh,
Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense - and explains how these big scheme operators make a big chunk of money. It's a shame, because in fact it's a very simple scheme for an employer to do themselves.
MarkP